88 Pictures of Bird Life 



l^'obably tlie first intiiiuitioii 

 of its presence will be the sound 

 of a slirill succession of ]iii>h- 

 pitched notes like *• Zi-zi-zi," as a 

 small })arty of (4oldcrests explore 

 a small wayside busli. How in- 

 cessantly they fiit from branch to 

 branch, sometimes head down- 

 wards like a Tit, sometimes 

 hovering like a moth, until, after 

 having finished a rapid examina- 



Swallow {Hiniiidu ritstica). 



tion of the busli. they all dart ofi 



with undulatino- fli"ht one after the other to the next I Thev 

 are often to be seen in company with Tits of several kinds. 

 Durino- the sunnner thev are not so readilv seen amoni'- the 

 heavy and sombre foliage of the firs and evergreens in wliich 

 they build their nest. This nest, one of the most l)eautiful 

 examples of bird architecture we ha^e, is always suspended 

 from the underside of a spreading horizontal bough of some 

 fir. larch, or yew, and, being compactly made of green moss, 

 very easily escapes notice. Even when found, it is not an 

 easy nest to photograph, owing to the deep shadow cast 

 by overhanging branches, especially if of spruce or yew. 

 Two attempts ha^■e been fjiilures, owing to the utter im- 

 possibility of seeing anything on the focussing-glass. 



If the Swallow be the harbinger of summer, the Chiflf- 

 chaff is that of spring. A^"hile hedges and trees are still 

 bare and leafless, its note may be heard in the tree-tops like 



